Tea at Trianon: The Vatican and the Poor

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

The Vatican and the Poor

From The Catholic World Report:

This is not the first initiative on Vatican grounds to be directed at offering concrete aid. Since early 2015, the Vatican has provided persons in need access to showers, and even a barbershop run by volunteers. Many barbers have volunteered with enthusiasm, including two barbers from the national Italian organization that transports the sick to Lourdes, and other international shrines.

“It seemed right to also provide free medical visits,” Archbishop Krajewski added, saying it is “an indispensable service to the health of the poor who live among us.”

And in October 2015, Pope Francis and his fellow Jesuits converted an old travel agency into a dormitory for the homeless.

Residents in the new “Gift of Mercy” house are welcome to stay for up to 30 consecutive days, and a schedule is set by the Missionary of Charity sisters who help keep things running smoothly. (Read more.)